Grande Prairie City Council met Monday afternoon. Highlights included the following:
Council has referred its Vehicle for Hire Bylaw to the committee level for more discussion.
This came after a presentation from the owners of Apple and Green Cabs.
They brought up several ideas they said would like to see for taxi regulations.
That included a cap on the number of vehicles used that are over 10 years old and yearly inspections for vehicles under five years old, rather than every six months.
They also asked for a minimum number of cabs for a company. They said there used to be a seven-vehicle minimum. They told council there are some companies that are only using one or two vehicles and these drivers are doing dispatch and driving at the same time.
The discussions at committee will also include a look at having a taxi commission.
Mayor Jackie Clayton and city Chief of Staff Janet MacEachern recently had a chance to meet with Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshan to advocate for Highway 40X while in Edmonton for a recent FCSS conference.
Clayton calls the proposed road “the number 1 regional transportation priority.”
Highway 40X would start at the lights at Highways 43 and 43X and go around Grande Prairie to link up with Highway 40.
Council approved a list of grant recommendations. That included seven from three different funds for local athletes, four grants for community groups and one for a local artist.
The recipients are as follows:
Community Improvement Grant
Ecole St. Gerard Fundraising Society – $5,000 gaga ball pit
Highland Park Neighbourhood Association – $1,482 crosswalk painting project
Country Club Neighbourhood Association – $2,500 community bulletin board
Swan City FC – $2,500 Rotary Fields safety netting and practice wall
Arts Development Individual Project and Scholarship
Aretha Laverne Art – $1,400 “Community over Empire: The Line That Divides”
Bob Neufeld Scholarship
There were four grants of $1,200 each given out to the following athletes:
Perky McCullough International Excellence Scholarship
There were two grants of $2,500 given to biathlete Liam Tinworth and freestyle skier Ethan Fernandes.
Come Fly With Me Fund
There were two grants of $,1300 each given to rugby player Ferris Sandboe and pistol shooter Elizabeth Gustafson.
Councillor Gladys Blackmore gave an update on the work the South Peace Regional Archives is doing at its new location in the basement of Centre 2000.
Blackmore says the contractor has told people from the archives that construction should finish in mid-to-late January.
The archives will close to the public from February 1 through the end of April so it can move from its current location at the Grande Prairie Museum.
The next council meeting is scheduled for December 11.
